Suy Niệm Chúa Nhật thứ 22nd Thường Niên - Năm B

 Suy Niệm Chúa Nhật thứ 22nd Thường Niên - Năm B

Chủ nhật tuần trước, chúng ta đã hoàn tất chương 6 trong Tin Mừng của Thánh Gioan nói về Bí tích Thánh Thể. Và hôm nay, chúng ta lại trở về bài Tin Mừng của Thánh Máccô.
Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã dùng một câu Cựu ước trong sách Isaiah nói về những người chỉ biết tôn kính Thiên Chúa bằng môi miệng, nhưng trong lòng họ thì vẫn xa rời Thiên Chúa. Chắc đôi lúc nhiều người trong chúng ta cũng có cảm gác như vậy mỗi khi ngồi xuống cầu nguyện, nhất là trong Thánh Lễ. Ngay sau khi chúng ta làm Dấu Thánh Giá, sự xao lãng đã bắt đầu tràn ngập tâm trí của chúng ta.
    Chúng ta có thể làm gì mỗi khi tâm hồn bị sao nhãng? Có lẽ chúng ta không có một giải pháp nào để giúp chúng ta tránh được điều này, nhưng chúng ta có thể chia sẻ một số kinh nghiệm của riêng mình.
Có ba loại chia trí hay sao lãng khác nhau trong việc cầu nguyện. Chúng ta hãy bắt đầu với sự chia trí tốt. Một số phiền nhiễu làm chúng ta chia trí có thể được gọi là tích cực. Thông thường, khi chúng ta cầu nguyện, một số nhu cầu hoặc bổn phận tự nhiên hiện đến trong tâm trí của chúng ta. Có lẽ đó là một người mà chúng ta nên gọi điện thoại hỏi thăm. Ví dụ, Khi chúng ta nghĩ về cha mẹ, con cái hay một người thân ruột thịt nào đó của mình trong nhiều ngày, nhưng khi bắt đầu cầu nguyện, chúng ta nhớ rằng chúng ta đã hứa sẽ gọi họ. Lúc này lòng trí của chúng ta như đang cố gắng chống lại sự thôi thúc ngừng cầu nguyện và gọi điện thoại. Thay vào đó, chúng ta có thể ghi lại một ghi chú, sau đó tiếp tục việc cầu nguyện. Điều tốt nhất mà chúng ta có thể làm cho cha mẹ hoặc người thân của mình là cầu nguyện. Khi một người nào đó đến với tâm trí của chúng ta, điều đó có nghĩa là chúng ta nên cầu nguyện cho họ. Điều này đặc biệt xảy ra khi chúng ta nhớ về một người đã làm tổn thương chúng ta. Nếu điều đó xảy ra trong Thánh lễ, chúng ta cố gắng đưa sự tổn thương này hiệp nhất với những gì đang xảy ra trên bàn thờ. Chúa Giêsu đã hiến mạng sống của Ngài cho chúng ta, để tha thứ tội lỗi cho chúng ta. Thì tại sao chúng ta không nên cầu xin Ngài giúp chúng ta tha thứ cho người đã làm tổn thương chúng ta sao? Vì vậy, những sự phân tâm hay chia trí này nhắc nhở chúng ta về một số nhiệm vụ có thể là tích cực. Chúng ta có thể lồng ghép chúng vào lời cầu nguyện ngay cả trong Thánh lễ.
Loại phiền nhiễu hay làm chia trí thứ hai là: những thứ đến từ xác thịt; sự lôi kéo cám dỗ của bản chất con người. Đôi khi chúng ta đang tham dự Thánh Lễ, nhưng lòng trí của chúng ta đã nghĩ về những gì chúng ta sẽ ăn trong bữa tối này? Có thể là những miếng sườn nướng hay là những miếng Beefteak Filet Mignon, mà chúng ta đã ướp theo như các công thức và gia vị đặc biệt và sẵn sàng bỏ vào lò nướng. Chúng ta mường tượng khi chúng ta bỏ những miếng thịt này vào lò nướng và chúng sẽ trông hấp dẫn như thế nào khi chúng ta kéo những miếng thịt này ra khỏi lò. Chúng ta có lẽ không đến nỗi là đói lắm, nhưng đột nhiên, những miếng sườn hay miếng beefteak đó lại trở thành tâm điểm cho sự chú ý của chúng ta hơn là viậc cầu nguyện hay tham dự thánh lễ. Những gì chúng ta cần làm là phải nói, "Lạy Chúa xin giúp con". Chúng ta hãy thừa nhận rằng chúng ta không biết cầu nguyện và nên nhận biết là Chúa Thánh Thần là Đấng đang cầu nguyện bên trong lòng của chúng ta. Như Chúa Giêsu đã nói, “tinh thần thì sẵn sàng, nhưng xác thịt thì yếu đuối”. Thiên Chúa đã cho phép sự yếu đuối của xác thịt để chúng ta có thể thừa nhận rằng chúng ta cần sự phụ thuộc của mình vào Thiên Chúa. Điều đó không có nghĩa là chúng ta chịu thua với xác thịt.
Chúng ta đang ở trong một trận chiến tâm linh; và thường thường trận chiến đó trở nên khốc liệt nhất khi chúng ta cố gắng cầu nguyện. Đây là ví dụ về chứng háu ăn. Nó có ý nghĩa không chỉ là ăn quá nhiều, mà là biến thức ăn trở thành trọng tâm trong sự suy nghĩ của chúng ta. Ngoài thói háu ăn, còn có sáu tội chết người khác: đó là sự đố kỵ, tham lam, thèm khát; tất cả các thứ tội này đều có thể đến với lòng trí của chúng ta trong khi cầu nguyện. Đừng nhượng bộ và đừng bỏ cuộc. Trước khi trở thành Giám mục phụ tá của tổng giáo phận Los Angeles, Cha Robert Barron đã thuyết trình trong một video rất xuất sắc nói về Bảy Đại Tội. (Bây giờ nó đã có trong YouTube và Bảy đức hạnh sống động tương ứng. Chúng tôi muốn giới thiệu Video này cho quý vị. Quý vị có thể tìm kiếm tiêu đề “Seven deadly sins” trên YouTube.)
Chúng tôi hy vọng đoạn Video này sẽ giúp ích cho chúng ta không chỉ trong cuộc sống hàng ngày, mà còn trong việc cầu nguyện của chúng ta. Chúng ta hãy tiếp tục chiến đấu với những sự chia trí hay phiền nhiễu đến từ xác thịt và tiếp tục cầu xin Thiên Chúa giúp chúng ta.
Một kiểu chia trí thứ ba đòi hỏi sự tế nhị: những thứ xuất phát từ cách ăn mặc thiếu lịch sự. Trong ngày Lễ Mình và Máu Thánh Chúa vào ngày 18 tháng 6 năm 2006, Đức Giám mục John Yanta của Giáo Phận Amarillo, Texas đã viết một bức thư mục vụ cho giáo dân của ngài nói về Sự khiêm tốn trong Thánh lễ. (chúng ta có thể tìm bản sao bức thư mục vụ này trên internet hoặc trang web của giáo phận Amarillo). Việc ăn mặc không nghiem trang trong Thánh lễ là một phần của một vấn đề rất lớn; nền văn hóa của chúng ta thiếu sự khiêm tốn. Xã hội của chúng ta thể hiện sự thiếu trang trọng như là việc giải phóng, nhưng trên thực tế, nó lại nô dịch hóa con người. Hơn bao giờ hết, việc ăn mặc thiếu lịch sự bao quanh chúng ta, thậm chí nhấn chìm chúng ta trong vực thẩm tội lỗi. Để hiểu những gì chúng ta đang chống lại, chúng ta có thể dùng hình ảnh trong cuốn phim “the Lord of the Rings”. Chúng ta còn nhớ con nhện khổng lồ, Shelob, đã tấn công anh chàng Frodo. Con nhiện này bao quanh anh ta bằng một màng nhện dầy dầy để rồi có thể ăn tươi nuốt sống anh ta. Chính vì vậy, nền văn hóa của chúng ta; vốn là một nền văn hóa của sự chết; như con nhện đang dùng sự thiếu trang nhã cuốn chặt chúng ta. Chống lại cái mành nhện thiếu trang nhã, hở hang này, chúng ta dường như bất lực. Tuy nhiên, chúng ta có một số vũ khí trang bị cho mình. Chúng ta có thể nhớ rằng khi màng nhện của Shelob bao trùm Frodo, người bạn của anh ta là Samwise đã chống trả. Anh ta chỉ có hai vũ khí; một thanh kiếm Hobbit nhỏ có vẻ vô lý khi chống lại con nhện khổng lồ. Nhưng anh ta cũng có Phial of Galadriel. Nó phát ra ánh sáng khiến Shelob lùi lại. Và nhờ đó Samwise có thể tiêu diệt con nhện khổng lồ ghê gớm này.
Nếu chúng ta kêu cầu Chúa Giêsu Kitô, Đấng Cứu Thế, Ngài sẽ sai thiên sứ của Ngài đến để bảo vệ chúng ta. Đặc biệt hữu ích là mỗi khi cầu xin sự cầu bầu của Đức Mẹ Maria. Trận chiến này sẽ không kết thúc cho đến khi chúng ta chết, nhưng chúng ta có thể tìm kiếm sự giúp đỡ để thoát chúng ta thoát khỏi cái màng lưới dính chặt đang nhấn chìm chúng ta ngày nay. Việc cầu nguyện không phải là vô vọng; và nhất là khi tham dự thánh lễ, chúng ta có thể kêu cứu nơi Thiên Chúa.
Ngày nay chúng ta có thể thấy tại sao Thiên Chúa cho phép con người chúng ta hay chia trí lo ra và sao nhãng, là vì Thiên Chúa muốn chúng ta nhận ra sự phụ thuộc của mình vào Ngài. Chúng ta đang sống trong một nền văn hóa chết chóc có nguy cơ nhấn chìm chúng ta trong tội lỗi. Kẻ thù sử dụng nền văn hóa đó để tấn công chúng ta từ mọi phía. Tuy nhiên, khi chúng ta kêu cầu Thiên Chúa, Chúa Thánh Thần sẽ giúp chúng ta. Như thánh Giacôbê đã nói: “Mọi ơn tốt lành, lộc trọn hảo hết thảy đều do trên cao xuống từ Cha các tinh tú sáng láng... Vì thế hãy khử trừ mọi thứ uế nhơ, và gian ác ứa đầy, mà khiêm nhu chịu lấy Lời vốn đã gieo sẵn trong lòng, Lời có thể cứu được linh hồn anh em,. (James 1. 17,21) Amen.

(Homily for Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year B)
Dealing with Distractions
Bottom line: Today we see why God allows distractions: So that we recognize our dependence on Him.
Last Sunday we completed a five-week series on the Eucharist - John, chapter 6, Jesus the Bread of Life. Today's Gospel brings up a concern related to the Mass: the problem of distractions during prayer.
Jesus quotes Isaiah about people who honor God with their lips, while their hearts remain far from Him. Many feel that way when we sit down to pray, especially at Mass. As soon as we make the Sign of the Cross, distractions begin flooding the mind.
What can a person do about distractions? I don't have a sure-fire solution, but I can share some of my own experience. I'd like to address three different types of distractions.
Let's begin with the good news. Some distractions can be positive. Often when I pray, some need or duty will come into my mind. Maybe there's a person I should call. I haven't thought about him all day, but when I start praying, I remember that I promised to call him. I try to resist the urge to stop praying and make a phone call. Instead, I might jot a note, then get back to prayer. The very best thing I can do for my friend is pray.
When some person comes to my mind, it means I should pray for him. This is especially the case when I remember someone who has hurt me. If that happens at Mass, I try to bring it into what is happening at the altar. Jesus gave his life for me, for the forgiveness of my sins. Should I not ask him to help me forgive the person who hurt me? So, distractions that remind us of some person or duty can be positive. We can integrate them into prayer even at Mass.
I'd like to now address a second class of distractions: those that come from the flesh - the downward pull of human nature. Sometimes when I am saying Mass, I will think about what I have in the refrigerator. Maybe someone has given me tamales. I imagine myself putting them into the microwave and how they will look when I pull the husks off them. I'm not even that hungry, but all of a sudden, those tamales have become the focus of my attention. What I need to do is say, "help." Admit that I do not know how to pray and to recognize the Holy Spirit is the one who prays within me. As Jesus said, "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Lord, give me your powerful Spirit. Jesus allows the weakness of the flesh so that we acknowledge our dependence on him. That doesn't mean we give into the flesh. We are in a spiritual battle - and very often that battle become most fierce when we try to pray.
I gave the example of gluttony. It means more than over-eating, but making food the center of one's thoughts. Besides gluttony, there are six other deadly sins - for example, envy, greed, lust - anyone can come to the fore during prayer. Don't give in and don't give up. Fr. Bob Barron has an excellent DVD on The Seven Deadly Sins and the corresponding Seven Lively Virtues. I recommend it to you. (And I will be showing it this year in our parish.) It will help you not only in your daily life, but also in your prayer. Keep fighting those distractions that come from the flesh - and keep asking for God's help.
A third type of distraction calls for some delicacy: those that come from immodesty in dress. Bishop John Yanta has written a helpful letter on Modesty at Mass. I have made copies available at the entrances. Immodesty at Mass is part of a bigger problem - our culture's lack of modesty. Our society presents immodesty as liberating, but in reality, it enslaves people. More than ever immodesty surrounds us, even engulfs us. To understand what we are up against, I would like to use image from the Lord of the Rings. You might remember the giant spider, Shelob, that attacks Frodo. She surrounds him with a sticky web so that she can devour him.
Just so, our culture - which is a culture of death - spins a web of immodesty. Against that web, we seem powerless. We do, however, have some armaments on our side. You might remember that when Shelob's web enveloped Frodo, his friend Samwise fights back. He has only two weapons - a small hobbit sword which seems ridiculous against the giant spider. But he also has the Phial of Galadriel. It emits a light that causes Shelob to recede. It enables Samwise to destroy the hideous creature.
If we call on Christ, he will send an angel to defend us. It especially helps to ask the intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary. This battle will not end until we are lowered into the grave, but we can seek help to break out of the sticky web that engulfs us today. It's not hopeless - and especially when we come to Mass we can cry out for help. For us and for our young people. I will say more about the battle for purity next Sunday.
Today we see why God allows distractions: So that we recognize our dependence on Him. We live in a culture of death that threatens to engulf us. The enemy uses that culture to attack us from all sides. Still, when we call out, the Holy Spirit gives us help. As st. James says: "Every perfect gift comes from above...Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your soul." Amen.


Homily for Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year B
Last Sunday we completed a series on the Eucharist from John’s Gospel chapter 6, and today we are coming back to Gospel of saint Mark. All of the readings today remind us that the source if good and evil is the heart, not external things. The heart is our inner sanctum where we can be pure or defiled, and both conditions try to go beyond their confines to influence the lives of others.
In today’s First Reading we’re reminded that the purpose of the Law is to enable us to grow closer to God and to show our intelligence and wisdom. In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees had derived over six hundred rules and regulations from the Law, all derived from the Law spelled out in the Old Testament books (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc.) However, they had lost sight of the fundamentals: love for God and neighbor, not just ritual cleanliness. Moses reminds them today that the Law is to be followed so that they not only have intelligence and wisdom but show it. Intelligence is something that shines from within. It’s not just the information we receive those counts, but how we process it and use it. Wisdom influences how we perceive the world. It makes us see causes, connections, and consequences, and our actions show or disprove that we are wise.
In today’s Second Reading St. James reminds us that to please God we should strive “to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” The “world” today believes that if something feels good, you should do it, but the world is also witnessing how much destructive behavior comes from following that principle. We are wounded by original sin and our own sins; not everything as a result feels good that is good addicts destroy themselves by trying to feel good. Lots of behavior turns into compulsive behavior that we can’t control: this is a stained heart that Our Lord wants to make clean again through love and mercy.
The Pharisees in Jesus time were focused on externals and had lost sight of the bigger picture. Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel that defilement comes from hearts and endangers other hearts, and we should strive to maintain a purity of heart, not just ritual cleanliness. In today’s Gospel, using the example of dietary laws, Jesus is teaching us that the “Devil made me do it” as an argument has no merit. The problem of evil has plagued man and philosophy almost since Creation, and a trend has always tried to blame God or other things as the cause of sin when all man needed to do was look in the mirror. The Lord our God created everything good and for the good, but his creatures freely chose to do evil instead: the fallen angels, starting with the Devil, and humanity, starting with Adam and Eve. If the world is a mess, it is because we, sinners, made it so.
The dietary laws in Jesus’ time believed certain foods brought ritual contamination and, therefore, defiled a man; We can see here Saint Mark makes a point of saying in his account that Jesus is teaching that there are no ritually impure foods. It’s a teaching that even the first disciples would struggle with as they realized that Christianity was meant to go beyond the Jewish world and culture. The Original Sin of Adam and Eve robbed us of something we couldn’t do without, and it is only thanks to the Redemption that their sin didn’t condemn us all to spiritual death. However, Adam and Eve aren’t to blame for all of it: we too have sinned and continue to sin.
This sobering reality is not meant to discourage us; instead, it makes us realize that not only do we need Savior, but have one: Our Lord. During the celebration of the Eucharist, we begin with a Penitential Rite, and after the main celebrant prepares the gifts, he washes his hands with water, saying, “Lord, wash away my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” We begin Mass with the Penitential Rite because we want to participate with clean hearts, just like we wash up for a meal. However, there is washing up, and there is cleaning up. We probably all had a moment in our lives when our mom told us to wash our hands, and she sent us back to do a better job because just touching a bar of soap and a little water did not clean our hands.
Similarly, if you’d fallen into a pit of filthy dirty trash, it’s unlikely that washing your hands before coming to dinner would be enough. We purify ourselves ritually at Mass and sacramentally in Confession because we know we need deep cleaning: of our hearts. There’s cleaning to wash away the daily grime, and there’s more radical cleaning when we need help to crawl out of the cesspool of sin. Today, Jesus gives a long list of things that come from defiled hearts and endanger other innocent hearts, and they can all be traced back to sinful proud person and dragging others into their behavior, even though their bad example.
We live in a culture of death that threatens to engulf us. The enemy uses that culture to attack us from all sides. In the Second Reading, St. James says: "Every perfect gift comes from above... Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your soul."
In His teaching to the crowd, Jesus added that: There is nothing from outside of a person can defile that person. But the things that come out from within are what defile. All human actions have their origin in the heart.
That is where evil intentions are planned and executed, be they: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, or folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. We have a choice, sometimes it seems easy, sometimes it's very hard.

Do we live our lives understanding and knowing that we are loved by God and trying always to please Him, to make Him proud? Or do we give into to the corrupted side of our nature, the selfishness we all have, the sin of the apple we have carried since Adam and Eve.

Today, all of us are called to be doers of the Word of God; we are not called to be doers of the worldly pleasures that rob the grace of God from our souls. We are called to be holy children as members of the holy Body of Christ, we are called to be doers of holy actions, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against such things.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit" [Gal. 5:22-5] so we may truly be doers of the Word. Let’s ask our Lord to help us practice charity with all our heart, not only caring for others but treating them with purity of heart and encouraging them to do the same. In that way, we’ll please God and remain close to him.

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. Mark 7:1–2

What a foolish thing for these Pharisees and scribes to be concerned about! They were in the presence of the Son of God, the Savior of the World, a man of perfect virtue and pure goodness, and all they could do was to observe that some of Jesus’ disciples failed to follow the scrupulous teaching on how they should wash their hands before a meal. The reason for this was their pride. These teachers of Israel had devised a large body of detailed, unwritten, human laws that they treated with the same binding force as the Law of Moses that they received from God. But the scribes’ and Pharisees’ human traditions were not from God; they were a body of regulations flowing from their own self-righteous need to act as interpreters of the Law. Therefore, whenever someone failed to follow the traditions the Pharisees and scribes taught as binding, they took it personally and reacted with judgment.

One lesson we can learn from these religious leaders is that we should never take things personally. Allowing ourselves to become personally offended at anything at all is, in fact, an act of our own pride. We do need to have sorrow for the sin we see, but that is different than allowing ourselves to become personally offended. For example, even if we were to teach the very Law of God and someone rejects that teaching, our response must be sorrow for them as we reject their error.

Jesus went on to respond to the Pharisees and scribes by quoting to them the Prophet Isaiah: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts” (See Isaiah 29:13). What’s interesting is that Jesus didn’t really engage them in conversation about this, defending Himself or His disciples in their eyes. Instead, He rebuked the Pharisees and scribes in a general way so as to dismiss their criticism as false, and then turned away from them and addressed the crowds.

We will all experience unjust condemnation at times. If we are in the wrong, then we must receive the condemnation as if it were from God and repent. But if the condemnation flows from someone’s wounded pride or error, then Jesus set the example on how we ought to respond. The best response is to reject their error and then refuse to become engaged in the conversation further. Too often when we are criticized unjustly, we also take it personally. We tend to fight back and justify ourselves, trying to prove that the other person is wrong. But when we do that, we are most likely acting out of our own wounded pride. This will result in angry sulking feelings and the experience of oppression that the evil one inflicts upon us. Jesus’ model is to reject the lie and then refuse to engage it further. The reason for this is that the unjust condemnation is actually the seed of the evil one. The person delivering it is only the instrument. So we rebuke the lie of the evil one and refuse to get into a personal battle with the person delivering the lie. Doing so brings freedom from oppression and allows our hearts to remain at peace, no matter what we endure.

Reflect, today, upon any ways that you have taken some conversation personally, allowing it to oppress you with anger, becoming defensive or argumentative. Know that whenever that happens, this is an attack from the evil one as he seeks to oppress you. Do not accept that abuse. The guide for each of us is the peace and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. Even the greatest martyrs remained at peace and felt joy in the midst of their persecution. Reflect upon any ways that you have allowed the evil one to agitate you and leave you upset with your wounded pride. Do not fall into his trap. Hold on to the truth and remain at peace, and that will be all the defense you need to make.

My persecuted Lord, You endured much criticism in life, but You never allowed it to steal Your peace. You remained perfectly strong, rejecting the lies and turning from them. Please give me the grace I need to always turn away from the lies of the evil one and to listen only to Your clear and gentle voice. Jesus, I trust in You.

Sunday 22nd Ordinary Time Year B

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I want to cling to you above all things. Eternal union with you is what I truly desire. Help me to be detached from the things of this passing world. Purify my heart from all evil.

Encountering the Word of God

1. True Defilement: For the last five Sundays we read from John 6 and heard Jesus proclaim that he was the Bread of Life and that he will give us his flesh and blood for food and drink. This Sunday, we return to the Gospel of Mark and begin with chapter 7. The passage is part of the “Bread Section” in Mark’s Gospel (6:33-8:26), where bread is mentioned 17 times. Throughout the section, bread serves as a keyword to refer to the understanding of Jesus and his mission, which the disciples often lack (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 124). The Bread Section begins with Jesus multiplying the loaves and fish in Israel and ends with him doing the same miracle in Gentile territory. Sandwiched between these two miracles is a conversation with a Canaanite woman who, as a Gentile, welcomes the scraps of bread that fall from the table of the children of Israel. In today’s Gospel, the discussion with the Pharisees about their human traditions happens in that context. The Pharisees who confronted Jesus were part of “a renewal movement that sought to restore God’s favor to Israel by advocating strict observance of the law and total separation from all Gentile defilement” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 135). The Gospel shows that the ritual and cultural walls of separation between Israel and the Gentiles, defended burdensomely and zealously by the Pharisees, were torn down by Jesus, who taught that “defilement is not ceremonial but moral; likewise, purity is a matter of the heart” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 143). What habitually defiles me from within?

2. The “Second Law” of Moses: The First Reading is taken from the Book of Deuteronomy. The name “Deuteronomy” means “Second Law.” Moses gave this law to Israel after forty years of wandering in the desert. The people of Israel repeatedly broke the “First Law” given at Mt. Sinai. After forty years of rebellion, Moses gave the people a second law that was much harsher than the first law and full of concessions. One of the objectives of the second law that Moses gave was to separate and protect the people of Israel from the influence of the Gentiles. Many of the laws that Moses gave in Deuteronomy were good and sought to apply the Ten Commandments to daily life in the Promised Land. But other laws that Moses gave were not good – such as the laws about divorce or eradicating enemies in warfare. These laws awaited their correction and fulfillment by Jesus, the New Moses. Jesus not only had to bring the Old Law of Moses to fulfillment, but he also had to correct the interpretation of that same law by the scribes and Pharisees who were unnecessarily burdening the people with their human traditions. Jesus will bring us back to the heart of the Law – loving God above all things and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Do I act like a Pharisee and concentrate on lesser matters or like a disciple of Jesus who focuses on the heart of the New Law?

3. Humbly Welcome the Word: This Sunday we begin to read the Letter of James as the Second Reading. It is a very practical letter that teaches that our Christian faith needs to flourish in works of charity. Faith does not consist in simply believing that God exists but must be completed in works of love and mercy (James 2:22). Faith without works of love is dead and useless. The Second Reading begins by reminding us that God does not tempt us to sin but is the giver of every good gift. God offers us the crown of eternal life, wisdom, truth, and being a new creation. “Ultimately, all these perfect gifts pertain to eternal life and salvation; God wills our salvation and life, not damnation and death. To think otherwise is to be deceived” (Anderson and Keating, James, First, Second, and Third John, 31). God is the eternal, unchanging source of all that is good. Those who receive God’s word do so humbly and know that the hope of salvation lies in God’s gracious gift and not in their own strength. The path to life comes through accepting God’s word of truth and persevering in it. Death comes from being ensnared by one’s own desires and the influence of the world (Anderson and Keating, James, First, Second, and Third John, 39). The Pharisees relied on their own strength to fulfill God’s Law and failed; do I rely on God’s grace to fulfill the New Law?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I humbly welcome you into my life and heart. You have transformed my life with your grace. Empower me to do good and avoid evil so that I may merit eternal life with you, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.